Many digital marketers and online business owners have to respond to the same type of emails multiple times a day. The process can be both overwhelming and time consuming.
In such situations, response models can be useful. A few filters in Gmail will also help you be more efficient with spam.
In this article, we’ll show you how to use Gmail response templates and filters to effectively combat spam.
What are Gmail templates and how do I use them?
You can save pre-written emails to your account and reuse them instead of writing them from scratch. You can save 50 different reply templates simultaneously with a Gmail account. So, creating a few generic templates for the target audience makes email communication more productive.
If you’ve established authority in a specific niche, you may receive hundreds of emails from people asking to write guest posts. You can create a template and use it instead of replying to each email one by one.
For the above scenario, let’s create an email template telling people that you don’t accept guest posts. Before creating a response template, enable template settings in Gmail.
1. Log into your Gmail account.
2. Go to Settings> See all settings.
3. In Advanced tabs, scroll to Templates section.
4. Activate Templates.
5. Click on Save changes.
After enabling the template settings, the next step is to create and save the response template.
How to create a response template
Follow the steps below to create a response template.
1. Open your Gmail account.
2. Click on Compose to write a New Message.
3. Explain your policy for rejecting guest messages in the email. (Make it general, so it applies to anyone requesting a guest post in any niche or category)
4. When your answer is ready, click on the three points at the bottom right of the editorial email box.
5. Go to Templates> Save draft as template> Save as new template.
6. Save the template after entering the name in the pop-up window. (Choose a descriptive name here, as the template will use the same name as the email subject).
Here’s how to confirm that a template has been created successfully.
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Click on the Compose again.
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Select the three points at the bottom right.
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Go to models.
This is where you’ll find a list of your templates saved in your Gmail account. The model will be copied to write an email box once you click on it.
If you need to manually reply to hundreds of emails, the process will still take some time, even if you’ve created an email template. This is where it helps to use filters to create automatic replies.
You can create a filter that places emails containing specific words in the spam folder, such as “guest post”, “backlink”, and “accept article”. Using this filter, you can also configure automated responses for these spam emails.
Let’s see how you can do it.
Using a template to create an automated response filter
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Open the same Gmail account with the response template.
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Click on the gear icon for settings in the upper right corner.
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Go to All settings> Filters and blocked addresses.
4. Click on Create a new filter. (You can also import an existing filter saved in your system in .xml format)
You can filter emails based on email address, subject line, and contain or exclude certain words or sizes. The most appropriate filter criterion for not accepting guest posts will be to include a few words closely related to the topic. Let’s add a few words to Include words option for the filter.
5. After specifying the criteria, click Create a filter.
Here you will need to decide what to do with the email containing a message that exactly matches your criteria.
6. Check Skip Inbox (Archive) box so that these emails will not clutter your inbox.
7. Also check the Send model box and select the same response template, Unauthorized guest message.
8. Click on Create a filter after checking the boxes.
You will now see the newly created filter in your filter list. In the future, emails containing the words “guest post, guest post, backlink, accept post, write for blog, write on website” will no longer reach your inbox. .
In addition, he will send the reply template to the sender in response to his email. So your inbox won’t be cluttered and the sender won’t have to wait for your response either.
Adjust the filter so you don’t miss important emails
After setting up the filter, keep an eye on archived emails to make sure that company-related emails aren’t filtered.
You might be filtering an email that contains the word “accept post”, but it might be a promotional offer that you are missing out on because of the filter. You can avoid this scenario by including a few words like brand, deal, or promotion in your Gmail filter.
Create independent filters if necessary
You can export the newly created response filter and then import it into the new Gmail account if you have multiple websites with different contact emails. However, you will need to activate and create a response template separately for this email.
The best option for creating filters if you plan to use the response template would be to create them from scratch.
Don’t let users know responses are automated
Do not mention that this is an automated response in your email. By avoiding this, people won’t trick the Gmail filter by skipping or spelling the wrong target words, so their email will reach you instead of going spam.
Also, it’s a good idea to regularly check your inbox and respond to emails that may be of use to you.
Control spam with Gmail filters and response templates
With the Gmail filter and general response template, you can reply to spam emails without having to go through them. This will save your time and energy. You should also test Gmail browser extensions that enhance your email communication in addition to Gmail filters.
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